Nosferat/Nosferatu
The Nosferat is a form of vampire most commonly known from Bram Stokers’ Dracula, and may have originated there as well. The name supposedly comes from the Greek word “nosphoros” meaning “plague carrier,” but the term Nosferat has not been reliably found in any East European dictionaries. This could make it a form of old Fakelore which became so intertwined with actual myth that it became a part of accepted myth in the modern day. The Nosferat was sometimes seen as a form of living vampire, and has been thought to originate as the illegitimate child of two people who were also born as illegitimate children. Sometimes it is instead a form of risen dead that rises from the grave of a stillborn child. It drains the blood of sleeping victims, often those of the opposite gender, and may act similar to the Succubus. To younger prey, it approaches in a seductive form, but to older prey, it appears simply as a bloodsucking monster. Children of a human and a Nosferat are ugly, covered in thick hair, and would become Moroiu. They often carry disease and can shape shift into the form of animals or inanimate objects. They have no fear of the sun, and appear at isolated locations during the day, and often leave in pillars of smoke. They were well known to approach newlyweds to attempt to make them break their vows. If they succeeded then they would disappear. If they failed, then they made women barren and men impotent. Newlyweds could keep these creatures away by sprinkling holy water on their bed, and placing coals from a church underneath. Having a dog next to newlyweds would also repel a Nosferat. A Nosferat would persist on earth for ninety-nine years, and would then descend to Hell to torture adulterers.
Citations:
Maberry, Jonathan. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us, and Hunger for Us. United States, Kensington Publishing Corporation, 2006.
Skal, David J.. Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen. United States, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004.
